Medellin Colombia-Shhhh, don’t tell anybody!
Medellin is called, “The City of Eternal Spring” because of its pleasant year round climate (an average of 24C). At 1,538 meters above sea level, the city sits in the Aburra Valley surrounded by the mountainous Antioquia terrain. It rains frequently except in January and June, which are considered the dry months, but the showers are usually in the mid afternoons and only last briefly. (still a good idea to bring or buy a travel umbrella).
Medellin, is a proud and modern city of almost 3.3 million people, with an area of 362 square kilometers. It is the capital of the Antioquia department and is widely regarded as the industrial center of Colombia and as a clean, well-organized and economically vibrant community. Its people are hard-working and industrious. Major industries include coffee and flower export, textiles, information technology and household appliances. Medellin has more Internet connections than any other Colombian city. It is also the fashion capital of Colombia and hosts the world renowned Colombiamoda each year in July. Each year the “Feria de Las Flores” (Flower Festival) attracts visitors from all over South America for parades and conventions. The city’s fast and efficient “Metro” is the only public transit subway system in Colombia and the “Empresas de Pública de Medellin” is widely viewed as the best public utility operating in the country. In culinary delights, Medellin is said to have created Colombia’s ubiquitous “arepa” – a flat bread made from various types of corn. I find it somewhat bland when eaten by itself but when filled with meats, cheeses or eaten with eggs for breakfast, it can be quite tasty (add a little margarine, a little honey and you have a very tasty alternative to toast). Meanwhile, Medellin’s historical traditions are evident in Pueblito Paisa in Nutibara, a squared section of town on top of a hill in the middle of the city (look for the microwave towers surrounded by trees) with homes and shops recreated as they were 100 years ago. Medellin has a cultural focus on education. It is also home of many universities that serve mainly the province of Antioquia. Among the most important are Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Nacional, Universidad EAFIT, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia.
The Medellin Ladies, affectionately called Paisas (pie-sahs), are seen by many as the most beautiful of the Colombian Latinas. A famous Colombian saying goes: “If you want a pretty mistress, go to Cali, but if you want a beautiful wife, go to Medellin.”
Upon arrival, you will be impressed with the modern airport, the quick transit through immigrations and customs, rapid baggage retrieval and availability of transportation to your intended destination. Get ready though, for a 45 minute to 1 hour drive through steep, 2 lane mountain roads that twist and turn in every direction imaginable. If you suffer from motion sickness or do not do well on amusement park rides, you might even want to have some Dramamine on hand as the taxis look upon this trek as an adventure and test of their driving skills, passing other cars on curves with minimal visibility of oncoming traffic. There are also frequent slow moving trucks, buses, rock and mud slides, accidents, cars with mechanical problems, bicyclists, horse drawn carts and any number of other encumbrances to slow your trip. (also, remember this for your departure).
Whether you are staying in a hotel, hostel or apartment, you will immediately get the impression that Medellin is a very upscale city, especially the Poblado area. The commercial buildings are very modern and most are less than 10 years old, the residential apartments are very upscale, well landscaped and maintained, the streets are immaculate (they literally sweep the curbs and sidewalks daily), there is an abundance of small and large businesses, restaurants, parks, police are everywhere, people are well dressed, there are almost no touts and very few beggars or homeless people to be seen and everyone seems to have a purpose or destination in mind. There are large manufacturing plants that make everything from textiles to appliances, scores of fresh flower processing plants (70% of the US fresh flower imports come from Colombia), well maintained roads, highways and expressways (autopista).
After you get settled in, you may want to see some of the sights and visit some of the places you have read so much about on various travel sites. You basically have three venues to choose from in meeting Paisas:
Medellin Nightlife: There are some very large, raucous discos that are wall to wall people Thursday through Sunday nights. Mango’s is probably the most famous. Set in an early western theme, they have numerous stages with Mangos dancers in skimpy outfits gyrating and grinding to various types of music. There is a cover of $15K and drinks are not cheap. This is where the Paisas go to see and be seen and do they ever dress for the occasion. Many are with dates, others are with groups of friends. For the most part, the prices keep out all but the well to do or those who get lucky to find someone able to pay. Many save their money to be able to go once per month. This is a place to take a date IMHO, at least on your first couple of visits. It is a great place to party with a group of friends. You will see more cleavage and silicon in one place than you have probably ever seen in any one place in your life. They are only open 4 nights per week, Thurs. through Sunday so be advised in your planning.
Universal is another place close to Mangos but most locals call it a copy cat and do not frequent it. La Palmahias is also a local favorite but there are probably 50 others to choose from as well. Parke Lleras is a great place to girl watch, have a drink, light or heavy supper, after dinner dessert or coffee. There are occasional fashion shows in P.L. that are teeming with gorgeous beauties. Take your cameras. They are very photo friendly.
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Local Malls and Parks: You will find many upscale malls and places to shop in Medellin. Many that will rival your favorite places in the US.
The newest mall which opened in Mid December is Centro Comercial Premium Plaza. El Tesoro, one of the newer and largest commercial centers, sporting walkways with fantastic views overlooking the city, is a high end commercial center where only the most wealthy can afford to shop. People are dressed very fashionably and looked like they have money to be there. Camino Real which is located downtown, is also a very nice mall. Unicentro, my favorite, is more of a mid level center with lots of people shopping in mid price range shops. San Diego, is one of the oldest commercial malls and also a very good place for shopping. Oviedo is a very upscale mall in the Zona Sur with many recognizable named stores like Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Cartier, LaCoste, Polo, Reebok, Liz Claiborne and others. The food court is the best place to people watch and perhaps the easiest place to meet them. In the early evenings, there is a restaurant at the main entrance called Café de Gris that will afford you a view of some of Medellins finest. Viscaya and Monterey are also worth a visit. If you need something for your electronic equipment, Monterey will probably have it. The entire second floor is dedicated to electronics.
Parks: Parque Lleras is in a very elegant park setting surrounded by shops and restaurants and bars. It is very popular with the young and beautiful set who go there for dinner and drinks after work, listen to free public concerts and watch free films. Parque Poblado is at the main N/S intersection (Calle 10 and Av. Poblado) in Poblado. Not a bad place to people watch during the day. Parke de los Pies (or barefoot park) is an interesting Zen like park behind the EPM (Pubic Utilities) building. Parke de los Deseos (park of wishes) is a fun place to visit and can include a walk through the campus of the nearby University of Antioquia.
Restaurants: Medellin is full of them. Everything from fast food and pizza places to elegant, white table cloth, sit down dining. Many fine italian, steak and local cuisine establishments at very affordable prices. Note: Most high end places include a 10% service charge for the waiters but many of the smaller restaurants do not. Tipping is not expected but is appreciated. Most locals will not tip unless the service is exceptional or they are trying to impress a date they are with that night. Don’t feel obligated to tip and if you don’t nobody will think anything about it. Leave a nice tip and they will be falling all over themselves to be your waiter/waitress if you return.
Keeping in touch: For the e-mail junkies or those that have to keep in touch while away, there are many decent internet cafes. Most hotels have wireless or in room internet access and there are several Wi-Fi hot spots conveniently located throughout the city. Some may be security blocked but most are wide open and you can just help yourself. Speed is quite surprising too!
Departing: Like most short 7-10 day visits to a foreign country, you will not be ready to leave because you have not had time to experience all that Medellin has to offer. Don’t be too concerned as it is a short hop from Miami and several other cities plan to offer non stop flights on a daily basis, making your return simple and easy to plan….even for a long weekend! You do need to plan for the return trip to the airport and the eventualities of delays on the mountain roads. Leave early and you may spend extra time in the airport. Cut it short and you may find yourself returning to your hotel because of traffic delays. Another alternative is to book at room at the Santiago de Amar motel, five minutes from the airport. It is a La Quinta style of motel but you can spend your final hours in comfort and dash for the airport at the last minute without any worries of traffic delays. Also, plan for longer than normal security checks. You will actually pass through 3 sets of metal detectors and x-ray machines.
Health Tourism: Medellin is a great place to have dental or plastic surgery performed by some very world renowned doctors at incredibly low prices compared to the US. Transplant surgeries are quite common in Medellin as every Colombian is considered an organ donor unless otherwise documented. Cardiovascular and cancer treatments are also quite common.
Colombia Travel Warnings: In 2005, the State Department lifted its travel ban and the country is enjoying a surge in tourism with over 1 million visitors last year alone. There are areas of the country where travel is not advised but if you stay in the major cities, you should be fine if you take precautions that you would traveling to any major city in the world.
Thinking about giving Medellin a try? If you don’t like it after a couple of days, you can always hop over to Cartagena for the remainder of your trip but I wouldn’t count on it.
Medellin Travel Guide
www.medellintravelguide.com
